It was initially announced that Zayn Malik had won the Best Music video prize for ‘Pillowtalk’. As Stereogum reports, Zayn posted a brief acceptance speech on social media and iHeartRadio shared it on their Snapchat.

However, iHeartRadio announced the following today that Fifth Harmony and Ty Dolla $ign’s ‘Work From Home’ video had actually won the award, which was voted for by fans.

Instead of admitting any kind of mistake, iHeart Radio then declared that Zayn had won a previously unannounced award called ‘Best Solo Breakout’, seemingly in a bid to justify the acceptance video he made.

The mix-up has incensed Zayn fans, who tried to get the #IHeartWasRigged hashtag trending on Twitter. However, Zayn himself has yet to respond to the mistake.

Last month, Zayn defended his girlfriend Gigi Hadid after she was accused of racism and “making fun of Asian people”.

The model appeared in an Instagram video posted by sister Bella in which she was seen squinting her eyes and comparing her face to a cookie shaped like a laughing Buddha. The video was swiftly removed following criticism from fans.

Bradford-born Malik, whose father is British-Pakistani, later replied to a question from a Twitter follower, who asked: “Being of Asian descent, how do you feel about your girlfriend making fun of Asian people?” Malik responded: “trust me.. she likes asians”.